Topic 1: System
Fundamentals
1.1 Systems in organizations
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1.1.1 The context for which a new
system is planned
Students should be able to:
 Investigate and outline the framework of a new system
 Describe the limitations of a proposed system.
 Present various organizational issues that relate to the
installation of a new system.
 Identify the importance of a new system for various
users.
 Outline the technologies involved.
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Planning a new system
Reality Check: A company may hope a new
system will be wonderful - and it probably will be,
but …
No new system comes without its potential issues
and problems. New systems are normally
replacements for a less efficient system.
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Discussion question
Facebook wants to change its look and feel and
implement a new social media platform.
The new platform will have entirely different
features and functionality.
a) Should one person be in charge of the new design
specification or two or more people? Why?
b) Do you think this is a good idea for facebook?
Who should they consider when planning?
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Reasons for a New System
The old system is inefficient.
The old system is no longer suitable for its original
purpose or is outdated.
To increase productivity, efficiency and quality of
output.
To decrease system flows and minimise costs.
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Lenght of time required to implement a New system
depends on:
 hardware and software costs,
 people needed to develop the system and immediate
environment.
Employees may require training to use the
system, and other employees may become
redundant under the New System.
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To decide if a System Update is worth pursuing,
such issues should be considered:
 Compatibility between Old and New System.
 Strategies for Merging Systems.
 Data Migration.
 Hosting Systems.
 Installation Processes.
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Features which need to be Considered when
Planning a New System
 Roles and activities of the users (e.g. Permissions,
Security, Partitions, Collaborative Work).
 Resources (Hardware and Software equipment)
appropriate for the organization.
 Costs/budget limits.
 Delivery time.
 Compatibility with the old system (Data).
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One approach is to conduct a feasibility report
which evaluates and analyses a project and its
potential based on the follow criteria:
 Technical Feasibility (is the existing technology sufficient
to implement the proposed system?)
 Economical Feasibility (is the proposed system cost
effective?)
 Legal Feasibility (are there any conflicts between the
proposed system and any regulations?)
 Operational Feasibility (are the existing organizational
practices and procedures sufficient to support the
maintenance and operation of a new system?)
 Schedule Feasibility (how long will it take to implement?)
KLAIPEDA LYCEUM
11/8/2022
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Suggested Video
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1.1.2 The need for change
management
Students should be able to:
 Identify factors that are involved.
 Justify the need for change management.
 Investigate and outline success factors.
What has changed for you?
 Do you welcome change and new challenges?
 Why or why not?
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Change management – management of people,
departments and organizations from one state of a
previous System into the desired New System.
Successful Change Management should
maximise benefits and minimise impact of
change on people so that stakeholders accept the
change in the enviroment; also issues regarding
planning the system should be resolved.
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Without a proper plan on how the new system will
be implemented once it is designed the change
from the old system to the new one will not be
successful. Many factors will need to be regarded:
• Employer/employee training
• How will the system be implemented?
•
•
•
•
Direct changeover?
Parallel running?
Pilot projects?
Phased implementation?
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Issues with Change Management:
 Workforce issues such as redundancy/retraining.
 Time frame involved in merging the two systems.
 Testing of the combined systems/new data.
 Data entry if migration is not possible.
 Costs involved in the aligning of the two systems.
 Changeover decisions such as parallel running, etc.
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Suggested video
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1.1.3 Compatibility issues resulting
from situations including legacy
systems or business mergers
Students should be able to:
 Describe the importance of compatibility.
 Identify the way legacy system interact with modern
system.
 Suggest strategies for successful integration during
business mergers.
 Identify the international dimension of software
compatibility.
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Rarely any two businesses on the world use the exact
same systems. So, when two businesses merge, it
is a major issue to get their systems to work together.
Some issues are listed below:
• Language differences (communication and issues).
 Part of business operating in a different country than host
using an older version of a system.
• If workers delegate, will their laptops work in other
departments?
• If an American and a European businesses merge, their unit
systems need to be merged (one uses SI units, one doesn’t)
• Businesses not using the same software environment
(Microsoft Exchange vs. IBM Lotus Notes)
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Legacy Systems
The term Legacy System refers to old
technology, hardware, software, computer systems
or programs.
Sometimes Legacy Systems remain in place
even though newer technology is available
because:
 Some legacy systems satify current user needs;
 Data cannot be converted into newer formats;
 Applications processing data are upgraded.
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Issues with maintaining a Legacy System:
 Expensive to change since programs may be
disorganised, and documentation may be missing.
 Could cause compatibility issues (often due to Old
Programming Languages or Old Database
Technology).
 May be difficult to recruit staff/programmers familiar
with old/languages/operating systems.
 Typically pre-internet and need an interface program to
interact with the system.
 The system mainframe is usually large and complex.
Even maintaining the system may lead to security
vulnerabilities due to system incompatibility.
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Strategies for Integration of Legacy System
Keep both systems and develop them to have the
same functionality.
 Hight maintenance cost.
 Consideration of the time frame this will take place within.
Replace both Systems with a New System.
 Hight initial cost
 Some employees will be fired or retrained.
Combine the Best Systems from both companies.
 Dificult for employees to work with diffeent systems.
 Requires testing.
Only use one System.
 Policy and employee issues.
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Assessment statements
1.1.1 Identify the context for which a
new system is planned.
The extent and limitations of a new system should be
appreciated.
Organizational issues related to the installation of new systems
such as user roles, underlying technologies.
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1.1.2 Describe the need for
change management
Students should understand there are a number of
factors that need to be managed to ensure change
is successful.
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1.1.3 Outline compatibility issues
resulting from situations including
legacy systems or business mergers
When organizations interact, particularly
on an international basis, there may be
issues of software compatibility and
language differences.
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